Trump Administration Stands Alone in Effort to Dump Daca Dreamers

By
The Alagiri Immigration Law Firm
|September 10, 2017

On Tuesday, the White House announced the end of the Deferred Action for
Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. Criticism immediately poured forth
from many sectors, including activists, industry and elected officials.

The public didn’t back the decision, either. A poll by Morning Consult
and Politico revealed that 76% of Americans backed either naturalization
or permanent legal resident status for Dreamers. Of course, Trump supporters
showed the least support for Dreamers, but even among this group only
26% favored deportation. More than 2/3 want to see Dreamers granted citizenship
or permanent status.

Dreamers and their supporters took to the streets on Tuesday, and the U.S.
Conference of Catholic Bishops released a statement calling the cancellation
of the DACA program “reprehensible.” Mark Zuckerberg changed
his Facebook profile picture to read “I support DACA,” and
Tim Cook tweeted that 250 of his Apple colleagues were Dreamers and he
stood with them, going on to say, “They deserve our respect as equals
and a solution rooted in American values.”

In short, few outside the White House support the measure.

Trump himself did not deliver the news, leaving the official announcement
in the hands of Attorney General Jeff Sessions—a vocal opponent
of immigration—to make the unpopular announcement. The declaration
was simple: the order establishing the DACA program would be rescinded
in six months, making nearly 800,000 young people who registered with
the government in good faith eligible for deportation.

Congress Can Save DACA Dreamers

Trump bounced the issue to the legislature, challenging Congress to “legalize
DACA” in the six months between the announcement and the scheduled
termination of the program. Though the legislature failed to take such
action during the Obama administration, the overwhelming public support
and the past support of members of the House and Senate make the time
ripe for legislation.

Data compiled by MoveOn.org reveals that 60 Senators and 222 members of
the House of Representatives have sponsored or voted in favor of pro-DACA
legislation in the past. Vocal proponents of such legislation include
influencers at the highest levels, including former President Obama. In
a rare move,
Obama released a statement shortly after the White House announcement, arguing that “we shouldn’t
threaten the future of this group of young people who are here through
no fault of their own, who pose no threat, who are not taking anything
away from the rest of us.”

Lawsuits Seek to Block the End of DACA, Protect Dreamers

Less than a week after the announcement, at least two lawsuits are in the
works. On Wednesday, Attorneys General from 15 states and the District
of Columbia filed suit in the federal district court for the Eastern District
of New York. The suit alleges that rescinding DACA would:

Cause harm to hundreds of thousands of the States’ residents

Injure State-run colleges and universities

Upset the States’ workplaces

Damage the States’ economies

Hurt State-based companies, and

Disrupt the States’ statutory and regulatory interests

On Friday, the University of California also filed suit. Janet Napolitano,
former Secretary of Homeland Security is now President of the vast University
of California system.

Napolitano’s suit alleges that the administration has violated the
Constitutional right to due process in abruptly ending the program. The
University argues that the move harms not only thousands of undocumented
students enrolled at various University campuses, but also the University itself.

Show Your Support for Dreamers

The numbers to pass DACA legislation are close in the legislature, and
although a majority of Congressmen and Senators have supported pro-DACA
legislation in the past, no single bill has received enough support to
become law. With the clock ticking, the legislature must act. Otherwise,
hundreds of thousands of young people who have never known any home except
the United States may face deportation. Now is the time to make our voices
heard. Tell your legislators to prioritize a solution that will allow
Dreamers to confidently and openly move forward with the lives they’ve
built in this country.

The Alagiri Immigration Law Firm helps people with U.S. immigration matters.
For more information, call(650) 562-6900,or fill out the contact form on this site.

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